HA!

"He sprang from the cabin window as he said this, upon the ice raft which lay close to the vessel. He was soon borne away by he  waves and lost in darkness and distance." pg 211

Wait...that's it? Victor dies of mental and physical exhaustion and the monster gets all sad and commits suicide? Is Mary Shelley insane? What other question could I possibly ask? Talk about putting all your eggs in one basket at the end. Poor Robert. If we imagine ourselves in his position for a moment, some guy just happens to show up while you're off trekking in no-man's-land, tells you a ridonkulous tale, dies, then a crazy thing shows up and tells you he will commit suicide because he doesn't have anyone to torment anymore. I'd say he got the short end of the stick. He didn't even get to do magnet-y things like he came for. I guess he'll have to take comfort in the fact that someone else will figure it out, so the world won't stay completely ignorant. Shucks.

Also, this is what my voice did when I was asking those rhetorical questions.

Step Off My Teepee

"My father tried to awaken in me the feelings of affection. He talked of Geneva, which I should soon visit, of Elizabeth and Ernest; but these words only drew deep groans from me. Sometimes, indeed, I felt a wish for happiness and thought with melancholy delight of my beloved cousin or longed, with a devouring maladie du pays, to see once more the blue lake and rapid Rhone, that had been so dear to me in early childhood; but my general state of feeling was a torpor in which a prison was as welcome a residence as the divinest scene in nature; and these fits were seldom interrupted but by paroxysms of anguish and despair." pg 174

There were just some things in this quote that stuck out to me mostly because I don't know what they mean or what they are. So it's time to learn!

maladie du pays - homesickness

Found from this forum post!

So I know where the Rhine is, but where in the blazes is the Rhone?

Right there!

And finally

paroxysm - any sudden, violent outburst; a fit of violent action or emotion.... HA!

Ramen Noodles: The Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner of Champions

"Liberty, however, had been a useless gift to me, had I not, as I awakened to reason, at the same time awakened to revenge." pg 189

So I'm not exactly sure if Victor is a hero or antihero. As illustrated by the quote, his motivation is revenge. Additionally, his motivation for making the creature was an unhealthy obsession of succeeding. He faints and is ill constantly. Definitely not heroic; however, he does attempt to save those he loves. He embarks on a dangerous trek across wastelands to hunt down his creation and he's very strong-willed when deciding never to create another being even at the risk of a life of perpetual misery. That seems pretty heroic to me. You say "potato," I say "Why did you say potato? Weirdo." HA!

Weren't expecting that, were ya?

Dressing Like an 80 Year Old Lady Since 1993.

"...by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs." pg 56

Okay, so the quote isn't from the second half of the book, but this is kind of an abstract juxtaposition so I needed a more general quote. Don't judge me...rude. Baaaasically, I noticed that it becomes more clear in the second half the juxtaposition of life and death. Frankenstein gave life to the monster. The monster then takes life away. For something has joyous as creating life, this was an experiment gone wrong that only succeeded in extinguishing it. Life-death-juxtaposition. It's deep, okay?

HA!

I may be a raving lunatic, but my hair looks fabulous!

"Clerval! Beloved friend! Even now it delights me to record your words and to dwell on the praise of which you are so eminently deserving." pg 149

"She left me, and I continued some time walking up and down the passages of the house and inspecting every corner that might afford a retreat to my adversary. But I discovered no trace of him and was beginning to conjecture that some fortunate chance had intervened to prevent the execution of his menaces when suddenly I heard a shrill and dreadful scream." pg 186

So suspense is exactly what Frankenstein doesn't do. Operating within a frame story, it is very difficult to create suspense because the reader knows that whatever peril the protagonist is in, he'll make it out safely, more or less, or he wouldn't be narrating. Additionally, Mary Shelley really did write the book (HA!) for this genre because, especially leading up to Elizabeth's murder, I felt like I was watching one of those really predictable thriller/horror movies where you talk to the screen at the characters telling them that they're incredibly stupid for wanting to check the closet. Sure enough someone pops out and makes you jump. Well that's kind of what happened with Elizabeth. Victor leaves her alone to go check for the monster. Yeah, capital idea. So, that's how suspense is killed, strangled like the monster does his victims. Metaphor? Oh yes.

You're right Frankie, it's just a book.

Side Effects May Include Death!

"On examining my dwelling, I found that one of the windows of the cottage had formerly occupied a part of it, but the panes had been filled up with wood. In one of these was a small and almost imperceptible chink through which the eye could just penetrate." pg 103

Creeper! CREEEEPER! Creeepercreepercreeeeeper!!!!

"My thoughts now became more active, and I longed to discover the motives and feelings of these lovely creatures; I was inquisitive to know why Felix appeared so miserable and Agatha so sad. I thought (foolish wretch!) that it might be in my power to restore happiness to these deserving people." pg 109

Uh-oh, I feel something TRAGIC coming! I'm not quite sure why the monster has taken such an interest in this family. It's nice what he's doing for them. I guess it characterizes him as an inherently nice person with feelings too. Then he's probably gonna get rejected 'cuz they all gon' be like "oh nooo, it's so ugly pa!" And then the monster is going to get its feelings hurt. Which makes it kill a little boy... The half way point had to be right in the middle of the frame frame story!

When you're out in the club and you see a fly girl, do the creep.

Chicken Dinner! I left the head on 'cause I love you.

"A flash of lightning illuminated the object and discovered its shape plainly to me; its gigantic stature, and the deformity of its aspect, more hideous than belongs to humanity, instantly informed me that it was the wretch, the filthy demon to whom I had given life. What did he there? Could he be (I shuddered at the conception) the murderer of my brother? No sooner did that idea cross my imagination than I became convinced of its truth; my teeth chattered, and I was forced to lean against a tree for support." pg. 73

Okay, what I want to know is how you're so sure that it was your monster that you created. Sure he shows up in a flash of lightning all ominously, but does that prove his guilt? I think Justine is guiltier than the monster. We never even found out if the monster actually killed him in this half of the book anyway. And why would he? What motivation would he have to randomly kill a person, save the fact that his creator shunned him. All he wanted was to be loooved! I blame Victor.

But everyone knows my logic is never flawed!